There are 4 alternative types of house building contractors that an owner has to choose from when preparing to build a custom home.
Depending on how much desire the owner has to be actively involved in the design and construction and associated financial risk, they have 4 alternative types of house building contractors to select from.
The owner must also be willing to accept the responsibility of the task of managing a home building project is a challenging one.
As such trying to be your own house building contractor is one of the biggest mistakes one can ever make.
Even a small miscalculation can snowball into something extremely adverse during your remodeling or new construction work.
As a non-professional, chances are high that you may not be thorough with various construction processes and their nuances.
Consequently, without professional help from house building contractors, you are likely to feel overwhelmed and lost during the process.
Given your lack of experience, you can also make some bad decisions and mistakes that are irrevocable in nature.
For all these reasons, hiring a general contractor in Houston is imperative, and avoiding engaging a less professional house building contractor may not be a good way of saving money.
Instead, try to analyze all the benefits you can enjoy by engaging a reputable home construction contractor.
First, you do not have to tread the confusing areas of appointing, managing, and communicating with multiple vendors and subcontractors.
With the right house building contractors handling all construction affairs on your behalf, you will only have to keep in touch with them to get updates about your remodel or new build project.
Second, apart from overseeing the entire project, house building contractors shall also remain responsible for complying with your investment budget.
Whether you want a home remodeling or a new luxury home, the professional provides you with 3-D designs to enliven your ideas and strive to meet your expectations at every step.
However, to realize all these benefits, you must get in touch with reputable house building contractors. Do not hire anyone amateur in order to save costs.
To ensure a positive experience, make sure you are hiring the right building contractor for your project.
Also, you can read our blog on quality standards offered by experienced GCs. To read more, check out this blog – Quality Standards for General Contractors Near Me .
Aside from the aforementioned factors, you must understand the alternative types of house building contractors for the construction delivery methods offered before hiring one.
Each of these types of contractors provides a unique process that can benefit you in a number of ways by meeting your requirements. In this blog, we shall learn the differences between project management, construction management, competitive bid, and design-build contractors. Let us read to learn more.
Learn About the 4 Alternative Types of House Building Contractors in Houston
Project Management Company Offered by Home Building
As the name suggests, a project management company is a firm responsible for managing the entire construction process of home construction from start to finish.
The responsibilities of a project management company are different than that of other types of house building contractors. The primary difference is that project management companies are not at financial P&L risk.
So, if you want one of the general contractors in Houston to supervise the entire process, make sure the expert is offering leadership in the form of a project management construction delivery process.
As a professional consultant, a project manager firm prioritizes the home owner’s interests and renders expert suggestions on design, drawing, constructability concerns, financial affairs, general business matters, and so on.
Project management companies are typically paid by the hour or on a percentage based on the value of the project.
Acting as your trusted home advisor, the firm helps you make the most of this project management method.
Through this process, he communicates and works closely with you to understand all the ins and outs of your real estate project.
This way he ensures that the end result is in line with what you want and expect out of your physical space.
Not only does the project management team help you with selecting the building site, it is also responsible for appointing the right professionals for your home building project.
Therefore, you get the industry-best architect, structural engineer, and interior designer working on your new custom home construction.
Preconstruction consulting also entails interior design development, understanding applicable deed restrictions, obtaining the building permit, conceptual plan review, and budget development.
However, if you want to learn more about a general contractor’s preconstruction responsibilities, we suggest you read our blog on “General Contractor Design & Pre-Construction Responsibilities”.
When it comes to subcontractor administration, a GC-led project management team keeps you sorted on this front as well.
Be it subcontractor procurement, processing payment request, or contracting orders, the team assumes major responsibilities and adds efficiency and swiftness to the overall construction process.
Furthermore, a project manager hires subcontractors that carry general liability insurance and workman compensation.
This is done to alleviate and redirect the risk of losses during construction work.
Without project management, schedules can go haywire and the workforce might become chaotic.
To prevent any kind of inconsistencies from cropping up, these general contracting firms also offer a thorough schedule and budget administration.
With their dedicated services, they maintain project schedule and budget thereby meeting the proposed deadline of project completion.
It does not end here, for the expert executes construction responsibilities such as team building, quality control systems, meeting facilitation, and on-site supervision among others.
Do you want to learn about each of these points in detail? Then read – “General Contractor Construction Responsibilities”
Construction Management Firms by Professional Contractors
Having understood the idea and concept of project management services, let us now shift our focus on construction management companies’ services.
The scope of this method is often restricted to design and construction development. Unlike project management, it does not deal with business agent affairs and in-depth administration of vendors.
In addition, construction management companies are not at financial P&L risk as traditional house building contractors.
If you think you can handle general business matters and need dedicated help with design and construction, then this process will definitely work for you.
Applicable for both commercial and residential construction, this particular approach allows the clients to have control over construction activities, budget, decision-making, and even staff their projects.
Whether it is for commercial or residential construction, you must engage a general contractor from the very onset of the process.
Doing so will ensure that zoning and building permits are obtained with minimum hassle before breaking ground of your project.
Acting as your construction manager, the GC delves deep into your project. The expert offers pre-construction services such as site selection & assessment, conceptual estimating, design assistance & cost-effective value engineering.
The professional is further responsible for project scheduling and material selection.
Being responsible for the management of the construction site, the team ensures the timely delivery of materials, availability of the right tools, and proper allocation of resources.
With a reliable building contractor at your assistance, you can certainly expect world-class construction services as well.
From site preparation to roof structure development and flooring installation, the construction management company gets into details to provide you with the best quality construction result.
Further, their services include selecting the wall treatments & paints, choosing countertops and drywall, and helping with landscaping among others.
Moreover, the building firm regularly coordinates with the architect and designer to realize the client’s dream in every way possible.
A general contractor in Houston does not leave you in the cold as soon as the construction work is completed, but instead the firm conducts final compliance inspections, looks into settlement & funding, oversees the transfer of utilities, and offers services and warranty programs.
Although you can get into traditional construction contracts agreements like a lump-sum contract or cost-plus contract, we suggest you opt for a design-build contract for the slew of benefits it offers.
With this contract agreement, you can save costs, communicate with a single point of contact, shorten project time, improve risk management, and have greater control over quality.
So, do you want to secure a construction management company for your retail expansion? Well, in that case, you have to hire a general contractor who specializes in commercial construction.
Do you not know the types of general contractors operating in the real estate market in Houston? To get a proper insight into this subject, read “Understanding Different Types of General Contractors & Services”.
Design Build Company – Consulting & Working with a GC
A design build company is a general contracting firm that offers a modern construction delivery method that enjoys several advantages over traditional project delivery approaches.
In this design-build method, the house building contractors offer both construction and design services thereby performing as one entity of designer-builder.
To reap the benefits of this project delivery method, we suggest you consult with a reputable design build company at the right time.
Unlike the project management company and construction management firm, the design build company operates as a “for-profit contractor”.
With the expert guiding you at every step, you can ensure smooth inception, development, and completion of your project while keeping unwanted surprises at bay.
For analyzing the feasibility of your home building project, the GC will go through property deed restrictions, and property surveys, and even develop a financial viability study.
Further, this process requires house building contractors to work in close collaboration with owners and remain accountable to them for every step he takes.
As per your needs, the design build company arranges a professional team comprising architect, engineer, interior designer, and more. Once construction plans are ready, they are submitted for permit.
To lay the ground work and make everything fall in place, the firm is responsible for ordering utilities, contacting vendors, procuring materials, and ensuring perfect completion of the home project.
Well, this is a synopsis of what the design-build approach is all about. If you are interested to find out more, read our blog “An Insight into the Process of Design Build Approach”.
Do you know if the design-build remodeling process is further available for home remodeling solutions?
In case you are finding contractors near me, make sure the potential building contractor has adopted this modern and client-friendly project delivery method.
This process allows you to hire experienced remodeling contractors as your trusted advisor for expediting the home renovation process.
From preparing design documents and selecting products & utilities to develop and complying with the construction budget, the remodeling contractor makes sure everything aligns with the requirements of the homeowner.
During the initial consultation, the house building contractors analyze the feasibility of the ideas and also review the deed restrictions.
Once the design-build process commences, the general contractor assembles the best industry professionals for your home improvement project.
Not only do they develop 3-D plans of your proposed ideas but they also seek your participation and feedback in the process.
This design build company ensures that the job of the design team is completed within the given deadline and resonates with the vision and idea of the homeowner.
Further, he takes care of the fact that new plans are in sync with existing space so that visual harmony and improved functionalities are achieved.
The building contractor and his team spend a lot of time planning and organizing a construction plan to meet the project deadline.
But if any unanticipated event crops up, the team might have to reschedule events thereby leading to a delay in the project completion.
Notwithstanding the scheduling challenges, design-build helps the firm meet its home improvement goals through earlier project completion in most cases.
With expert guidance from start to end, the project will likely have a lesser number of issues and conflicts due to design. Moreover, you can control the design cost and share your inputs and feedback with the design team.
This is not the end, as the GC covers you with post-construction services such as a walkthrough for a quality check and a final inspection of the comfort & safety of your new living space.
Further, a general contracting company offers a secured warranty program for both home renovations and new home construction.
It is understandable that at this stage you cannot wait to shift to your new place, but GCs suggest that let vendors complete the works listed in the punch list to avoid damaging your personal property.
These are some benefits common to both design-build home building and home remodeling.
So, whether you want luxury home building or home renovation, design-build is the best project delivery method for all the prominent reasons discussed until now.
But to stay assured of these benefits, you must hire the right GC. We understand finding the perfect building contractor for your home project is not an easy job.
But you can give our blog a read. It might help you narrow down the list and ultimately reach one of the best general contractors in Houston. Click here “Selecting & Hiring the Best General Contractor”.
Competitive Bid Contractors Method
The traditional house building contractor that most people think of when searching for a building contractor is the competitive bid builder.
These home builders operate under many different professional service descriptions, but much like the design build company they operate as a “for-profit building firm”.
The primary benefit of hiring this kind of construction company is that they offer a fixed lump sum amount for the construction of a home from a complete set of existing construction documents.
An owner will collect the names of several construction companies and issue them the documents to bid.
The owner will then compare these bids and select the house building contractor these prefer for their project.
Conclusion
Often homeowners do not know what to expect from their house building contractors and thus fail to get the most out of their investment.
But having read this blog, you can now appreciate the various types of project delivery methods adopted by popular GCs in Houston.
Besides, it has got easy for you to gauge the role played by a general contractor in your remodeling or new construction project.
If you are looking for a reputable general contracting company, your search ends here then.
With decades of experience, Marwood Construction offers all of the above-discussed project delivery methods & services. It is further noted for providing client-friendly consultation and cost-effective design-build approach.
